It wasn’t even close. Jai Opetaia put on a dominant performance to defeat Brandon Glanton and retain his Ring Magazine cruiserweight title — while also becoming the inaugural Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight champion.
The fight main evented the fourth Zuffa Boxing card, held on March 8 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After feeling things out for most of the first round, Opetaia managed to work the left hand, even when standing and circling on the outside. Even as Glanton tried to cut off the ring, Opetaia was landing the better punches through the first two rounds.
Opetaia appeared to be in a comfortable groove by round three, and he appeared to do damage with his uppercuts and hooks in the fourth. Glanton tried to get inside and managed to do so in the fifth; however, Opetaia was ready with combinations and continued to land.
Glanton was deducted one point in the sixth round for excessive holding. It didn’t matter much, however, as Opetaia’s control remained. Glanton was even deducted another point in round eight after hitting Opetaia with a low blow.
Opetaia didn’t finish Glanton but continued to remain in firm control, even wobbling him in the bout’s final minute. Opetaia nearly swept the judges’ scorecards to take a clear one-sided decision for all the gold.
Jai Opetaia Becomes Inaugural Zuffa Boxing Cruiserweight Champion At Zuffa Boxing 04
Opetaia now moves to 30-0. This marked his eighth straight defense of the Ring cruiserweight title. Opetaia was also the IBF cruiserweight champion, having held the title twice within the past couple of years, but the IBF stripped him due to the organization not sanctioning the fight.
Glanton has still won four of his last six, but he’s now 1-2 in his last three fights. Prior to tonight’s loss, he scored a sixth-round TKO win over Marcus Browne in October.
